Chapter 37

Mentor-Disciple Deal

After three exams in seven days, the tightly shut doors of the Official Academy finally opened.

The capital bustled with activity.

Yu Shanyan and the others who weren’t able to enter the examination rushed to the entrance of the Official Academy to experience the atmosphere in advance. Yu Youyao wanted to go too, but her grandmother did not let her go out.

The students who had been inside the Academy for seven days came out one after another. Most of them were in a daze. It was obvious that they had suffered quite a bit.

The next day, the disciples of the Yu Clan who had participated in the examination gathered and greeted Old Madam Yu, then thanked her for her care and help.

Seeing that they were in good spirits, Old Madam Yu asked, “Were the questions this year difficult? Did you manage to finish all of them?” She didn’t ask if they had done them well.

The dozen or so disciples in front of her went silent. A teenager of about seventeen or eighteen wanted to step forward and say something, but the person beside him pulled him back and shook his head.

Naturally, this scene did not escape Old Madam Yu’s notice. Her hand that had been twisting her prayer beads also paused.

The young man who had held him back was the third young master of the eldest branch of the Yu Clan, Yu Shande. He was also the most promising one from the clan this time. The Yu Clan had high hopes for him. If he could get on the rankings, there would definitely be one more capable minister from the Yu Clan in the future.

At this moment, Yu Shande stepped forward respectfully. “The questions weren’t especially difficult, but we weren’t talented, and only barely managed to finish it.”

These were humble words. Just managing to complete it was already very impressive. Old Madam Yu smiled and said, “That’s okay. For the next few days, just rest well and wait for the rankings to be released.” At this point, she paused and said, “You’re still young. Most of you are participating in the examination for the first time. Don’t worry too much.”

After hearing what she said, everyone looked much more relaxed.

Old Madam Yu asked them to stay for lunch. It was a rare occasion for there to be a banquet in the residence, so Nanny Liu asked Yu Youyao to check on the main kitchen. When she returned to the north courtyard and passed by the lotus pond, she heard someone talking by the rock garden.

It was Yu Shande and another youth, named Yu Shanren.

“Why did you stop me from talking earlier?”

“It was just something that we had happened to hear someone mention in the Golden Jade Pavilion. We don’t even know if it’s true or not, yet you dare to share it with others. Do you have a death wish?”

“But since others have talked about it, there must be some truth to it.”

“As long as there isn’t evidence, we shouldn’t talk about it.”

“But, befriending the main examiner in private and obtaining the leaked test questions that way, making a deal to become mentor and disciple so that the disciple will repay his mentor when he makes it onto the Golden Ranking List—that’s clearly cheating in the examination. It’s too unfair to us, who have been studying hard for years.”

“Shut your mouth up!”

“I—”

“Regarding the examiner accepting disciples, there has already been a precedent case in the previous dynasty. The previous dynasty’s sacred sage had become old and felt regretful that he couldn’t continue to serve the country, so he had taken in a few more disciples, hoping to nurture more talents for the country. It’s still unclear if there was really cheating in the imperial examination, yet you dare to spout nonsense.”

“But…”

“Everyone in the capital knows that the Golden Jade Pavilion is one of the businesses of the Marquis of Weining’s Residence. If this causes any trouble, the Yu Residence will be implicated.”

There was a long silence in the rock garden.

After a while, he said, “Don’t think too much about it. Perhaps it’s just an ordinary mentor-disciple relationship, and has nothing to do with cheating. Besides, we have the Yu Residence supporting us, so this doesn’t affect us much either way.”

“Got it, Third Bro.”

The two of them left the rock garden together. On the other side, Yu Youyao’s scalp had gone numb upon hearing all of this. Her right eyelid twitched non-stop as she paced around the rock garden. Fortunately, there were guests at the residence and everyone was busy. There was no one else on this side of the rock garden except her. She heaved a sigh of relief.

That student who’d befriended the examiner—regardless of whether he had cheated—had better not have anything to do with the Yu Residence.

Yu Youyao turned around and went to the north courtyard, then told Old Madam Yu everything she had heard.

Old Madam Yu’s expression was solemn. She repeatedly instructed Yu Youyao not to spread this matter outside. Then, she sent someone to the second house, asking Madam Yao to inform Yu Zongshen to head to the main house the moment he was back from work. Finally, she called Yu Shande and Yu Shanren into the main house, and dismissed everyone else.

She remembered how strange the two of them had behaved when they were in the hall earlier.

About ten minutes later, Yu Shande and Yu Shanren walked out of An Shou Hall with ashamed expressions. Clearly, they had been taught a lesson by Old Madam Yu.

All the descendants of the clan left after having their lunch.

In the afternoon, Yu Zongshen came to the main house. Old Madam Yu closed the door and said to him, “Shande is quite sharp, but he’s still inexperienced after all. He’s too cautious but not thorough enough. You should give him more guidance in the future. Shanren is honest and straightforward, but he’s a little quick-tempered. However, he still knows to consider the big picture, and is a boy who can be taught. After talking to them today, they understand what they should do. After a few days, you can go over and further explain the rationale and reasoning to them. The youths in the clan are all willing to listen to you.”

Yu Zongshen nodded. “Mother, since it’s you who has handled it, I’m not worried one bit.”

Old Madam Yu said, “There’s no need to tell your big brother about this. If he finds out, he’ll definitely run about getting involved again. When that happens, he might feel satisfied, but not only will he implicate you, the Yu family will also be in hot water.”

After two to three days, Yu Youyao still had not heard any rumors about cheating in the examination spreading outside. Instead, the students who’d participated in the examination were out and about in the capital, hanging out with friends, having discussions, and networking with the aristocrats. Mostly, they were just waiting for the results of the ranking to be released.

Once the list was released, the students who made it onto the list would be official scholars and could participate in the palace examination in April.

Yu Youyao felt relieved. Suddenly, she remembered the sachet she had promised her cousin and quickly fetched the jar that contained the dried flowers.

The dried apricot flowers were bright and beautiful in pink and white. The fragrance of the flowers was slightly tart while also slightly sweet. It smelled fresh and layered, and was suitable for both men and women.

Yu Youyao called Chun Xiao over. “Go to my box of items and bring a sachet to me. It’s for a gift to Cousin.”

After a while, Chun Xiao brought two sachets over. One was green with lotus patterns, and the other was blue with orchids. The colors were alright, but Yu Youyao wasn’t satisfied with them.

Nanny Xu smiled and said, “Didn’t you learn needlework? Why don’t you embroider a sachet yourself for Young Master?”

When Yu Youyao heard this, she quickly shook her head. “No! No, I’ve only learned needlework for a short time. I haven’t even learned all the techniques and skills. If I embroider badly, I’ll make a fool of myself.”

She wasn’t very interested in needlework, but Nanny Xu had insisted that she learn it for two hours a day. In the first few days, she often pricked her own fingers, causing her precious fingers to be covered in bloody holes.

Yu Youyao was delicate and afraid of pain. After realizing that resisting Nanny Xu’s instructions was useless, she accepted the reality. In order not to let her fingers suffer, she could only learn needlework seriously.

Actually, the best age to learn needlework was generally five or six years old. At that age, the bones were tender and flexible.

Yu Youyao was a little older, but she was born with good coordination. After learning for a few days, she had managed to learn a lot of needlework techniques, but still, she had never embroidered anything seriously.